Cream Tacos

This is my families favorite comfort food. I have only met one person that doesn't like this casserole.

1lb ground beef, turkey or even deer would work
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 small can diced green chilies
1 dz corn tortillas, cut or torn into small pieces
shredded cheese( I use cheddar)

Mix first 5 ingredients together, put in pam'd 8x8 pan. Put Shredded cheese on top.

Bake at 350* for about a half hour, till edges are bubbly and cheese is melted.

This recipe is very easy to make for large groups, just double or triple ingredients.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Cilantro, use your discretion
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add the brown rice, lime juice, olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Return to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender.
2. Chop cilantro.
3. Once the rice has cooked, add the garlic powder, chopped cilantro and more salt and pepper to taste. Fluff with a fork before serving.
4. Serve Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice with favorite Mexican dish.

Stove Top Meat Loaf

Step 1:
2 lbs ground beef
2/3 roll of crushed milk crackers (I use Royal Crackers, a purple box)... See More
Poultry seasoning (Bell's Seasonings), a few dashes
1 egg
salt
pepper

Step 2:
Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, sliced

Mix all ingredients in step 1. Form into a firm loaf.(I use a loaf pan to do this and just remove it.) Brown loaf on all 4 sides in large, deep pan. Once browned, add water to pan until ½ of loaf is under water. Add sliced onions to water. Add Worcestershire sauce to water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer on medium/low for approximately 45 minutes. To test if done, cut loaf in half to see if it is still red.

Chili-Beef-Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchini (about 2 pounds), halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup jarred pickled jalapeño chiles, finely chopped
• One 8-ounce bag Mexican-style shredded cheese

For a change
Stuff baked potatoes instead.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. Arrange the zucchini cut side up in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add 1/2 cup water to the dish, cover with foil and bake until the zucchini begins to soften, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and cumin and cook, breaking the meat up, until just browned, about 4 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes and pickled jalapeños.
3. Uncover the baking dish, pour off the water and season the zucchini with salt. Fill with the beef mixture and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes

Kyms Sugar Cookies

I don't know about anyone else but I always go looking for this recipe and have to wade through lots of old message board posts to find it. Thought it was about time I added it on here.


Sugar Cookies  (by Lisa Yockelson, printed in the Washington Post in 1999)
(About 6 dozen cookies, using a 3-inch cookie cutter)
This big-batch recipe will provide you with plenty of tender, buttery rolled cookies for cutting into fanciful shapes to bake and decorate.
6 cups bleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling the dough
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar, plus additional for the surface
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup light (table) cream
Nonstick spray oil
4 large egg whites, lightly beaten, for brushing on the unbaked cookies, or substitute about 1/3 cup light (table) cream,
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter for 3 minutes. Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add the 2 eggs and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Blend in the cream. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until the flour is completely incorporated after each addition. The dough will be soft.
Divide the dough evenly into 5 portions. Place each portion between 2 sheets of wax paper and roll to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Stack the sheets of dough on a large baking sheet, making sure that the sheets don't wrinkle. Refrigerate the dough on the sheet overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Carefully remove the top sheet of wax paper from 1 sheet of rolled- out dough on a lightly floured surface. Carefully flip it over so that the exposed dough is on the floured surface. Remove the top sheet of wax paper. Using cookie cutters lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray, cut out as many cookies as possible. Lightly press together the scraps, reroll and chill again. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough. (If the dough softens at any time, freeze the dough on a baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the dough firms up.) Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Lightly brush the tops of the cookies with the egg white or cream. If you are not planning on decorating the cookies, sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 11 to 12 minutes, or until set and golden. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in airtight tins.
Per cookie: 122 calories, 2 gm protein, 16 gm carbohydrates, 6 gm fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 3 gm saturated fat, 52 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber

Tilapia Tacos with Peach Relish

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos and about 1/2 cup salsa)

Ingredients

• Salsa:
• 2  cups  finely chopped peeled peach (about 2 medium)
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped red onion
• 2  tablespoons  chopped cilantro
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1  jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 
  Remaining ingredients:
• 1/2  cup  panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1  pound  tilapia, cut into 2-inch strips
• Cooking spray
• 8  (6-inch) corn tortillas

Preparation

To prepare salsa, combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add fish to bowl, tossing to coat. Place fish in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once.
Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish and salsa evenly among tortillas.

*These were fantastic! We added shredded cabbage and a white sauce to the tacos before eating. My white sauce was equal parts mayo,sour cream and lime juice.

Chicken Scampi

CHICKEN SCAMPI

Finely chop 10-12 garlic cloves and handful of fresh basil. Sauté with 1 stick of butter for 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of white cooking wine, juice from 1 lemon (without the seeds ), and 3/4 can of chicken broth (add the chicken broth a little at a time because you might not need it all). Simmer for ½ hour.

Cook 1 lb. of penne. It usually takes about 10 minutes to cook.

Cut chicken breasts (1 per person) into bites. Cut grape tomatoes in ½ (if you want, depends on how you like them). Sauté chicken bits in a little oil until they’re almost done (a little pink). Add chicken and tomatoes to sauce. Cook for 1 minute. SHUT OFF.

** you only want to cook the chick/toms real quick in the sauce. You should throw them in when you're almost ready to serve – the chicken should be almost cooked when you throw it in **

Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Add penne and 1 heaping serving spoon of sour cream (or 1 sm. container) (sour cream is optional. I made it both ways and you liked it both – you probably didn’t even notice the difference!!)

Sprinkle a handful of parmesan cheese in the scampi and mix. Then sprinkle more on top when it’s served.

*I don't know how one of the most popular recipes from our group didn't make it on this site. Sorry it has taken me so so so long to add it!

Creamy Italian Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 pkt Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup water
Put in crockpot for 3 hours

Mix 1 pkg. softened cream cheese with 1 can cream of chicken soup
Add to chicken in the crockpot( I always take my chicken out and then mix my soup mixture with the juices in the crockpot with my hand mixer.), cook 1 more hour. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Cranberry Bog Burgers served with Corn on the cob with Chive Butter

Ingredients

Bog Burgers:

• 1 1/3 pounds (the average weight of one package from meat case) ground turkey breast
• 1 small McIntosh apple, finely chopped
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery from heart of the stalk, finely chopped
• 1 rounded teaspoon poultry seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil, for drizzling
• 4 sandwich size sourdough English muffins
• 1 cup prepared whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
• 8 leaves Bibb lettuce, cleaned

Corn:

• 4 ears corn, shucked
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 20 blades fresh chives, finely chopped

Directions

Combine turkey, apple, onion, celery, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper in a bowl and form into 4 large patties. Preheat a large skillet or a grill pan to medium high heat. Drizzle skillet or brush grill with vegetable oil and cook patties 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Toast split English muffins. Mix together cranberry sauce and mayonnaise. Spread muffin halves with cran-mayonnaise and pile in burgers and Bibb lettuce. Serve burgers with corn on the cob and berry desserts.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and corn and cook for 5 to 6 minute. Drain ears and spread with butter. Sprinkle ears with a generous coating of chopped chives.

Huevos Rancheros Tostadas

You can make your own tostada shells by frying 5-inch corn tortillas until crisp with just a little corn oil or canola oil.

4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 small jalapeño chile, seeded, deveined,
finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, divided
4 (5-inch) tostada shells
6 tablespoons shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup refrigerated salsa
1 small avocado, diced

1. Heat broiler. Whisk eggs, milk, chile, salt and pepper in small bowl. Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook eggs 2 minutes or until softly scrambled, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cilantro.

2. Place tostada shells on small baking sheet. Divide scrambled eggs among shells; top with cheese. Broil 30 to 60 seconds or just until cheese is melted and bubbly.

3. Sprinkle tostadas with remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro; serve with salsa and avocado.

Taco Soup

1 can black beans- drained

1 can Kidney beans

1 can navy beans

1 can corn

1 can green chilies

1 32oz can diced tomatoes

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 pkg ranch dressing

1 lb ground beef- brown and drain

Only drain the black beans. Just dump everything in, heat and enjoy! It tastes best if you let it simmer for 40-ish minutes and let the beans break down a bit. If you want to make it even healthier and easier, use veggie/soy "ground meat" instead of the ground beef. Then you can just dump it in . . . no need to brown it first. Your kiddos definitely wouldn't notice the difference, but DH might a little (just the texture).

Sometimes I cook some whole grain macaroni noodles and serve it over that . . . it seems to go down easier for my kids.

It's absolutely best topped with freshly grated colby-jack cheese. Other good toppings are sour cream and chopped avocado.

Potato-Ham Bake

1 lb potatoes, sliced

1 8oz tub light cream cheese with chives and onion

¾ cup milk

¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp snipped fresh tarragon or ½ tsp dried tarragon, crushed

8 oz cooked boneless ham, cut in bit-size slices *

1 lb fresh asparagus spears, trimmed, cut in 2 to 3 inch pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook potatoes, covered, in small amount of salted boiling water for 5-7 min, just until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. For sauce, combine cream cheese, milk, 2 Tbsp Parmesan, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Heat and whisk until smooth and cheese is melted. Remove from heat and stir in tarragon.
3. Layer potatoes, ham, asparagus, and sauce in 1 ½ qt baking dish. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Tope with black pepper and, if desired, fresh tarragon.

*I think the recipe could use more than this! I buy a small ham and just keep cutting it up until it looks like enough. We usually eat it with a salad. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad:

3 cups cooked, diced chicken (I buy a rotisserie and cut it up, lazy but yum!) 3 cups cooked white rice (we DO NOT add this, yuk LOL) 2 avocados, peeled, diced, and tossed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3/4 cup chopped onion (I use red) 1 cup mayonnaise (I use less because of omitting the rice, just eyeball it) 1 to 2 teaspoons pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves (I dont use) I'll call this OPTIONAL: Avocado Dressing : (OK, we did this the first time, and it was good but overkill so we dont anymore) 1 large avocado, peeled and mashed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/3 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon salt Dash cayenne pepper Thick, crusty bread, multi-grain or sourdough Salad: Mix all ingredients and chill. Pass with avocado dressing. Dressing: Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Chill and serve alongside chicken salad. (again, I dont bother with this)

This is seriously the best chicken salad in our opinion! I just tweak it to taste with salt and pepper and mayo but we love it!!

Sloppy Joes

* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
* 3/4 cup ketchup
* 3 teaspoons brown sugar
* salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.
2. Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Burmese Pork Curry

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp red pepper flakes *** I just used a dash of red cayenne pepper to make it more kid friendly

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 can coconut milk

Juice of one lemon (2-3 Tbsp)

1 lb boneless pork, cubed into 1” pieces ***I used about 1.3 lbs

10-12 large cherry tomatoes ***I used a bunch of grape tomatoes instead

1 lb tiny red potatoes, halved

Preheat oven to 350. Puree onion, garlic and ginger in a blender or food processor. Pour mixture into a large bowl and stir in cumin, turmeric, red pepper, salt, soy sauce, coconut milk and lemon juice. Add pork, tomatoes and potatoes and toss to coat well. Transfer to a baking dish and bake until meat is tender and thoroughly cooked and potatoes are soft (about 60-90 minutes). Serve with steamed white rice.

Chicken-Fried Steak and gravy...

1 c AP flour
2 packs Ranch Dressing mix
3 c buttermilk
1 egg ( beaten)
1lbs of cubed steaks
oil for frying
1 c chicken broth
1 packet of Country Style gravy mix..

In large ziploc bag mix flour, 1 packet of dressing mix, salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, mix 2 c of buttermilk, the other pack of dressing mix and the egg.
Soak the steaks in the buttermilk mixture ( i did this for about 20ish minutes). Remove one steak, letting excess milk drip off. Add to flour bag and toss to coat. Shake off excess flour and repeat again. In the milk and then back into the flour bag.
In large skillet add about 1/2 oil. Fry steaks 2 at a time for 6ish minutes on each side until golden brown. Put on paper towel to drain.

Gravy..in a saucepan, mix remaining 1 c of buttermilk, chicken broth, and packet of gravy mix. Bring to a simmer over med heat and stir well. Spoon over steaks and it's great over mashed taters too!!

Chile Relleno Casserole...

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper (per your taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt (per your taste)
3 7-ounce cans whole green chilies, split open
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese ( just get a bag of chedder/jack mixed shredded cheese and add to my own taste)

This serves all of us, so I figure this is enough for 6-8 servings. Freezes well too!

Assorted garnishes such as chopped tomatoes and cilantro, sliced green onions and avocados, or salsa of your choice
Spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Beat first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl to blend. Arrange chiles from 1 can in prepared dish, covering bottom completely. Sprinkle with 1/3 of each cheese. Repeat layering twice. Pour egg mixture over cheese and let stand 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover dish and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until casserole is slightly puffed in center and golden brown on edges, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with assorted garnishes sprinkled on top.

I usually roast 5 or 6 chiles instead of using canned. Peel, stem and seed them, then split open and proceed. Talk about stinging hands, lol

Syrian Bread

5lbs All purpose flour
3 envelopes yeast..( i use highly active)
1c sugar
2T salt
6-8 C warm water ( start with 6 and add slowly 1/4 c at a time if dough seems too dry)
1/3c vegetable oil

Mix flour, sugar, and salt together in LARGE bowl! lol Disolve yeast in about 1/2 c of the warm water, then add to rest of the water. Then slowly add to flour mixture. Mix well but don't play with it too much. Cover and put in warm place for 3 hours. Grease pans liberally with oil ( i use 12inch disposable pizza pans, WM sells then 3 for $1.88) If you have Bakers Joy, spray hands with that if not, put soe flour a bowl and dust your hands with it. Grab a fistfull of dough and drop onto pan. you should have roughly 10 fistfulls of dough. They should be around 6ish inches across, some more some less. They wont be perfect. Put those to rise for an hour.

Preheat over to 400 with one rack on bottom and one in middle. Put 1 or 2 pans on bottom rack ( depends on size of oven) for 10 minutes, when ten minutes is up, move those to middle rack and put new ones on bottom 10 more minutes take first ones out and rub down with stick of butter while still hot. Repeat process till all loaves are done. It freezes well!!!

I also flour a surface well and roll out one handfull, sprinkle a cinnamon/sugar mixture over the entire thing, then roll it us and slice it like cinnamon rolls, then place in pan and sprinkle again with mixture, make cream cheese icing for top...YUMMY!!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 Yellow Cake Mix
1.5tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 (15oz) can of Pumpkin Puree
1 egg
1/3 cup of oil

Mix all ingredients together, then put into greased muffin cups & bake! 350* for 20-25m for full size muffins, and 15 for the mini muffins (which I made)

Sweet Susages Braised in Onions w/Horseradish Smashed Potatoes

Sweet Susages Braised in Onions w/Horseradish Smashed Potatoes

2lbs small red potatoes, cut into quarters
Coarse salt
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 links (about 2lbs) sweet Italian sausages
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 to 3 tbsps chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 garlic cloves, chopped
chicken broth
2 tbsps honey
2tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream
1 rounded tablespoon horseradish (I used a little extra)
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

For the smashed potatoes, place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the water to a boil. Salt the water and potatoes. Take off the lid and boil the potatoes until tender, 10-12 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, start the sausages. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the sausage links and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove the sausages from the skillet and reserve.

To the skillet, add the onions, thyme, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the onions, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, chicken stock, and honey. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then add the browned sausages back to the pan and braise the sausages until they are cooked through and the sauce has reduced by half, 8-10 minutes.

While the sausages are braising, drain the potatoes and return them in the hot pot to the warm stovetop to dry them out. Add the butter, sour cream, horseradish, and mlk to the potatoes and smash to the desired consistencey. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the horseradish smashed potatoes among 4 serving dishes. Add the chopped parsley to the sausages, then top each serving of potatoes with 2 sausages and some of the braising liquid.